FA Cup 3rd Round Draw - Newcastle United is Ball #28 - Live Thread

Saying that it has been a long time since Newcastle United's last domestic cup triumph would be a massive understatement. The timer since we last hoisted the FA Cup is still ticking, and stands at a mighty 56 years at this point. Captain after captain has come and gone without lifting any such trophy, let alone the jug with the huge handles. Every year, that could all change. . . well by definition at least.. This will be the second and last domestic cup of the 2011/12 season for the Toon.

Confirmed reports this morning are showing that Steven Taylor is out with his damaged Achilles', likely for the season, although there will likely be no confirmed report so far as timeline until after the surgery. Although the squad was good enough to make it to the QF of the Carling Cup, there are now real concerns about how seriously we will be able to take this competition. The reserves and the academy teams have been in good form this year, but will that good form be good enough to make noise in the cup when we have to rely on them heavily?

Newcastle United have the 28th ball to be drawn. A potential regional dream-match between Newcastle and Gateshead was spoiled by Tamworth, so I guess that, beyond hoping that we avoid PL or Championship opposition, there's no real "It would be awesome if we got them!" kind of match, so we shall wait and see what shakes out. I'll be live-blogging the draw down in the comments, so why not follow along?